A film production company has launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign for a film about former University of Colorado quarterback Sal Aunese, but university officials say they can't fully support the film because its producer owes them more than $100,000.

George Antonopoulos, a CU alumnus, launched the fundraising campaign Oct. 25 for the documentary "Born to Lead: The Sal Aunese Story," which details how Aunese's death in 1989 from stomach cancer motivated Colorado to win a split-national championship at the end of the 1990 season.

CU officials say they fully support the idea of the film, but that they can't condone Antonopoulos's Kickstarter campaign for the film's production when he owes them $120,000 from the last five years.

The money, according to CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard, is owed for advertising during a professional volleyball tournament held at CU in 2008 and for a licensing agreement Antonopoulos signed to film on campus and use university imagery in the film.

"There is no objection on the university's part about a documentary about Sal Aunese," Hilliard said. "That was a very powerful story. It was a very bittersweet time for our program. Our issue with Mr. Antonopoulos is that he owes us $120,000.

"It's very difficult for the university to encourage participation in this project in good conscience with these debts still outstanding. All of us sentimentally would like to lend our full support, but the fact is that this money is owed to the university and by extension it's owed to the people of the state of Colorado."

Aunese came to CU in 1986, and became the team's starting quarterback in 1987. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the spring in 1989 and died Sept. 23, 1989. Darian Hagan, CU's current director of player development, became quarterback after Aunese and led the team to a shared national title, along with Georgia Tech, in January 1991.

Antonopoulos, who began making a separate dramatic film about Aunese called "Sal" in 2007, said the new film "Born to Lead" is "90 percent" finished, and that the Kickstarter campaign with a goal of $88,000 will help fund editing and special effects to finish the movie.

Antonopoulos said he's made some payments on the debts owed to the university, but added that when the economy suffered in 2008 and 2009, so did his film production company, Livin' Large Productions.

"It's not as much as everyone would like to see by now but payments have been made," he said. "If we had $500,000 in the bank, we would just wire it in today. It was a very difficult economy."

Hilliard said about $75,000 of the money Antonopoulos owes CU is for a licensing agreement he signed in 2007, which would allow him to do things like film inside the football stadium, take shots of CU athletics symbols such as the charging buffalo logo and use images filmed on campus.

In the film's official trailer, former Colorado coach Bill McCartney speaks on camera inside Folsom Field.

Hilliard said the licensing agreement is standard procedure for any film company or person who wants to shoot video footage on campus or use university "iconography."

"We're not holding Mr. Antonopoulos and his film company to some arbitrary standard," Hilliard said. "We do agreements like this with other production companies all the time. We would ask that if he really wants the blessing of the university for this project that he reconcile those debts and let's all move ahead together. It's a nice idea for his film. We'd like to be more supportive and right now the place we're in is that we can't."

Antonopoulos, who would not comment specifically about the money the university says he owes, said he wants to bring the "uplifting" story of Aunese to the world soon.

"I am currently in negotiations with the university through its legal office," he said. "I am optimistic that we will reach a resolution with the outstanding issues very shortly."

New coordinator pushes Buffs to work, play at level he expectsJim Leavitt has discovered this much about his new defense at Colorado: He has some talent with which to work, but his players need to put it in another gear. Full Story